Log in

Opinion

Your Views

Benefiting from the arts

As I read former principal Josephine Koebert's recollections of Roosevelt Middle School's early days, I recalled how I and my three sisters benefited from our integrated arts education there ("How Roosevelt Middle School thrived," Perspectives, March 19).

In addition to finding exciting ways to connect to academics through artistic expression, I also grew from a shy, introverted child into a kid who felt confidence. I was so nervous in my first theater class monologue I cried with anxiety. I went on to participate in many of the theater projects at the school. I always was part of the school's celebrated dinner theater.

I learned new ways to express myself through visual art, and although I never became more than a passive musician, I learned how my role in the band affected those around me; I learned how everyone matters in group endeavors and that every person has value when pursuing group goals. I cannot remember a single negative event in my 1985-1988 time there. We students truly did feel a sense of community within the school. I knew that every teacher has something special to offer with creative thought and a serious commitment to academics.

I went on to attend Rufus King, where my artistic inclinations led me to see academic pursuits as challenges and opportunities to use creative thought to solve problems in novel ways. I remember a social studies project in which we used dramatic re-enactments on film to demonstrate our understanding of the Mexican Revolution. I learned so much, and my teacher encouraged those approaches to thinking about the real-life consequences of historical events.

Today, I am a social studies teacher at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts, a place where I try to share the lessons I've learned with my students so that they, too, can find creative solutions to real-world problems. Employers seek out people with those skills. I hear it from executives, CEOs and managers from businesses in every field.

What a shame it is that we are letting down future generations by not throwing our full support to a school which has, and could again, send students forward into life with such enthusiasm for creativity, innovation and a sense of community. I thank Koebert for cultivating an environment as beautiful and engaging as it was.

Brian Beaudet

Milwaukee

•••

Why can't Democrats sell Obamacare?

As we roll into the 2014 Congressional elections with the Affordable Care Act once again a centerpiece of the debates, I am struck by the inability of Democrats to convey the positive aspects of Obamacare.

In theory, Obamacare should be something Democrats campaign on, as many parts of the Affordable Care Act are widely supported by the American people. Provisions such as the ability of those with pre-existing conditions to receive health care coverage and the ability for children to stay on their parent's health care plan until age 26 are widely supported by majorities on both sides of the aisle, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, yet Obamacare as a whole is only receiving a 39% approval rating.

Perhaps the challenges facing Democrats in the 2014 election is not the Affordable Care Act itself. The challenge lies in their ability to sell the act to America, to explain the specific parts of the bill and why they are important to the American people.

I believe that the battle for Congress will rest on whether Democrats can finally "sell" Obamacare to the American people.

Nicholas J. Marn

Brookfield

•••

Black leadership needs to change

Rep. Paul Ryan has been castigated recently for expressing his views on what ails the inner city and trying to come up with solutions to problems that are not getting better. Sheila Jackson Lee predictably pulled out the race card and Paul Krugman belittled Ryan on nearly every point.

Despite the United States having spent over a trillion dollars, and very knowledgeable people offering suggestions they believe will begin to reduce the seemingly endless societal problems of the impoverished inner cities, black "leadership" and liberals continue to reject suggested solutions as racist and coming from whites who can't possibly understand the black culture. As the rest of the world moves ahead, these dismissive attitudes are increasingly irrelevant. People of good will are simply going to "let it go" because they can do nothing.

I believe black leadership needs to recreate black culture and preach a new message loud and strong. The long term fate of a people is determined by their culture and the values they profess. The values are revealed by the choices they make in the pursuit of desired goals and the sacrifices required.

A true black leader would survey the cultures of the world, pick the best values that produce excellent outcomes, and say to the black communities across the country that "this is what we want to become." By picking the best globally successful behaviors, the ideas become colorblind.

That would be true leadership. Is anyone up to the challenge?

Thomas J. Casper

Waukesha

•••

Ryan went off the rails

To say it was informative and illuminating would be an understatement. It's hard to imagine a man of Ryan's pedigree being so "inarticulate." Helping Ryan shoot himself in the foot, in fact handing him the gun, is no less than conservative host Bill Bennett.

If there are two topics Republicans should know better by now to avoid like the plague, it's rape and race. The cost of discussions on these two topics has been considerable and the damage substantial over many years. But Ryan went for the bait on the first offer. Most of his comments are nothing but empty, high-minded platitudes that his party has absolutely no interest in, but safe, politically.

He goes completely off the rails went he essentially says that black inner city males are valueless as role models for their children. What a racist, hateful, incorrect statement from a man looking to expand his party. He supports his reasoning by quoting Charles Murray and Bob Putnam, two men about whom the kindest thing you could say would be "controversial" while some might call them racists.

Finally, Alexis de Tocqueville, whom Ryan mentioned in the interview had advice for people who struggle with "inarticulation." De Tocqueville said they would "suffer the terrifying exactitude of memory."

Barry Snider

River Hills

•••

Republicans aren't racists

However, it seems whenever we hear about race it is often a Democrat charging Republicans with racism. So maybe it is a good time to point out, once again, that the Republican Party was created as an anti-slavery party and has always been a civil rights party.

The Democratic party before the Civil War was the pro-slavery party and for 100 years after was the party of virulent racism. I'll give Democrats credit for a genuine commitment to civil rights since the 1960s. But I would also point out that the Democratic Party today seems to believe that race is destiny, that race is forever, that race is determining, that minorities are no better off today than in the '60s. Those are limiting and damaging beliefs.

There were at least four civil rights acts passed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In every congressional vote on these bills, the percentage of Republicans voting in favor exceeded the percentage of Democrats voting in favor. It's easy to research it on the Internet. Krugman's charge that Republicans are racists is mean-spirited.

Brian Rude

Rice Lake

•••

More Hanks needed

When I read the article, I was heartbroken. I know this is a doggie-doggie world, but given all the strife in today's news, knowing that there will be only one Hank is disheartening. The Brewers may consider having Hank paired with another adorable female to help boost their ticket sales and give Milwaukee's citizens the opportunity to have a little Hank in their homes.

It was the article I looked forward to reading after all the "news" to brighten my day! When I went to visit my mother in Door County last weekend, I called my friend to read the article in Saturday's paper! It has been a delight to read about Hank in the past few weeks.

Kristine M. Thelen

Milwaukee

Income inequality is an injustice

The front page of the business section of the March 13 Journal Sentinel vividly illustrates one of the greatest injustices of American society. One article noted that the "average inflation-adjusted income has declined 9% for the bottom 40% of households since 2007, even as incomes for the top 5% now exceed where they were" before the recession (Briefcase/A Daily Digest). In other words, the few are extracting more and more wealth from business in this country, while the many receive less and less, a trend we have permitted now for decades.

On the same page is an article saying the average bonus on Wall St. was $164,530 ("Average Wall Street bonus up 15% to highest level since 2007"). Since that's the average bonus, one can be sure the top 5% received far more in their bonuses. Later in the article, it is noted that collectively these bonuses totaled $26.7 billion which, according to the Institute for Policy Studies, "would be enough to more than double the pay of the 1.1 million full-time minimum wage workers in the U.S."

One solution would be for our government to create limits to income on the upper end and a floor on the lower end below which wages would not fall — in other words a minimum wage above poverty level.

Unregulated capitalism feeds the greed of the few who have power, to everyone else's disadvantage. It would not be unreasonable to limit the upper end incomes to a certain percentage above the lowest incomes. Nor would it be unreasonable to return to the days when we had a more progressive income tax structure to help support people at the bottom of the income ladder, most of whom are there through no fault of their own.

This is hardly a revolutionary idea. Some prosperous countries in Europe do this very thing, thus maintaining a far more equitable society than we have here in the United States. It's way past the time we should be demanding that our government — in all its forms — act as the referee to enforce rules that make the economic game fair for all.

Edward Weiskotten

Milwaukee

•••

Survey on health care will help

People in the Milwaukee area have an opportunity this spring to weigh in on a timely and important topic: health care. For months, the news has been buzzing about changes in our health care system, such as the Affordable Care Act and health insurance exchanges. As millions of Americans begin to take a more active role in their health care, now is an important time for everyone with health insurance to make their voices heard.

From February through April, health insurers conduct a survey called the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), which is mailed to select people with health insurance, including those enrolled in an individual plan, an employer-sponsored plan and Medicare. Responding to the survey by mail or phone is one way a person can become part of the broader effort to improve our nation's health care system. Responses are kept anonymous.

Survey responses help the government and insurance providers identify ways to better serve people and improve the care they receive. The government and insurers want to make sure that people in the Milwaukee area receive good medical care from doctors they trust. The CAHPS survey is one tool used to achieve this goal.

Bruce Weiss, MD, MPH

market medical director

United Healthcare in Milwaukee

Milwaukee

•••

How about land mines?

Just a thought: Maybe the City of Milwaukee would be better off placing random land mines on the city streets. They would destroy my car more efficiently than potholes would. One could lose a small car in some potholes, and the bumps and cracks are harsh enough to throw out my back.